The weird thing is i've been losing weight for about 6 months now and am down 40+ pounds. It's been great but the only places I'm starting to see good results are in my biceps/arms, upper chest and legs.They seem to also be the places I am stretching the most for MA.

Anything that can be done around the house to help isolate those areas?

Where your body stores your fat is based largely on your gender. You're no more cursed then any other male, that's where our bodies tend to store fat (not sure about that shoulder blades bit).

Spot reduction is a myth. It just has to do with the fat your body has being stored in those places. If you keep it up, they'll go down with time.

"That was the only way you could destroy me. Neither do I quail at death nor act in deference to any god. So drop your talk, I come resolved to die. But first, there are these gifts I bring for you." At once he hurled a javelin at his enemy, then sent another and another still straight to the mark. - Virgil's The Aeneid

Kickapoo is absolutely right. There is no such thing as spot fat burning. That's a myth. Like you won't get a six pack by working out your abs, but by good nutrition. You want to lose fat, do some cardio and eat well and you'll see results. I know it's long but you have to be patient. And from what I read you're doing great! 40 lbs in 6 months is excelent, just keep up and you'll achieve your goal!

From the sounds of it you may have more of a meso/endomorphic body type. All that means is it's going to take more effort to lose that last layer of fat than others might normally have to put in.

The last place you burn fat off is the first place it's put on - alternatively the first place you burn fat is the most recent place it was deposited. This is why spot reduction is bunk.

Just keep up the work, eat well [don't go on a diet] and the fat will come off with time. There aren't any quick fixes to this one; Only time, patience and dedication are going to get the job done.

Also, 40lb in 6 months is amazing! Just don't get discouraged when this tapers off and you start losing closer to a pound a week [or less]. At that point, I'd say stop monitoring your weight loss altogether and instead get someone to calculate your Body Fat Percentage [can't be done without proper equipment and some simple tests any fitness professional can do] so you can track that. It will be more representative of your progress and more pertinent to your goals.

Anything that can be done around the house to help isolate those areas?

Spot reduction is mostly a myth.

While it is certainly commendable you've lost 40+ pounds already, you haven't indicated what your current body fat percentage is currently. If it's still high, just keep losing weight.

Uncontrolled hypertension, thyroid problems, and cortisol problems (among a few other things) can all cause abnormal fat distribution. If you feel your body fat is distributed abnormally (as opposed to you being a fattie), I suppose it couldn't hurt to discuss this with a doctor about getting a basic physical and some blood work done, especially if you have insurance.

There's always liposuction. ;)

Calm down, it's only ones and zeros.

"Your calm and professional manner of response is really draining all the fun out of this. Can you reply more like Dr. Fagbot or something? Call me some names, mention some sand in my vagina or something of the sort. You can't expect me to come up with reasonable arguments man!" -- MaverickZ

While it is certainly commendable you've lost 40+ pounds already, you haven't indicated what your current body fat percentage is currently. If it's still high, just keep losing weight.

Uncontrolled hypertension, thyroid problems, and cortisol problems (among a few other things) can all cause abnormal fat distribution. If you feel your body fat is distributed abnormally (as opposed to you being a fattie), I suppose it couldn't hurt to discuss this with a doctor about getting a basic physical and some blood work done, especially if you have insurance.

There's always liposuction. ;)

You know, I've never had a body fat % done. That probably wouldn't be a bad idea, at least it would tell me how much further I have to go.

I've wondered about thyroid issues before due to some other factors and am scheduled for a physical soon so maybe that'll shed some light. I've been "a fattie" essentially my whole life due to poor diet and low exercise, maybe I'm still shedding fat that's been there for years and it's just being stubborn.

Lipo? No way man, I've been in the OR plenty of times with my job. I don't EVER want to be on that table if I can help it.

You know, I've never had a body fat % done. That probably wouldn't be a bad idea, at least it would tell me how much further I have to go.

I've wondered about thyroid issues before due to some other factors and am scheduled for a physical soon so maybe that'll shed some light. I've been "a fattie" essentially my whole life due to poor diet and low exercise, maybe I'm still shedding fat that's been there for years and it's just being stubborn.

Lipo? No way man, I've been in the OR plenty of times with my job. I don't EVER want to be on that table if I can help it.

If you're not losing a lot of weight anymore, switching to tracking your BF% would be most productive. 8-10% is really good for men, lower looks great, but isn't that healthy.

Lipo? No way man, I've been in the OR plenty of times with my job. I don't EVER want to be on that table if I can help it.

Not to actually encourage liposuction or anything, but nowadays they have what they call mini-lipo, which is done in office with local anesthetic. In and out same day and the recovery time is very short. I haven't had it done but I'm keeping it on the table option-wise.